LOS ANGELES — The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP), announced today a sobering increase in the recent usage of its child pornography (CP) Reporting Hotline.
The organization said that following an encouraging downward trend during the early part of 2012, layman reports of suspected child pornography received by its hotline rose dramatically during the second quarter — fast eclipsing the 4890 monthly reports averaged during 2011.
The rate of increase is so sharp, that July’s report volume approximates the combined volume of January, February and March of this year, with more than 12,000 reports during the month. The figures for the first half of 2012 include 4,836 reports in January; 3,972 in February; plus 4,036 in March; and 4,639 in April.
ASACP noted that the volume increased rapidly from there, recording 6,175 reports in May, followed by an alarming rise to 10,519 reports in June.
“The continued success of its CP Reporting Hotline is met with mixed emotions at ASACP,” executive director, Tim Henning said. “One the one hand, it illustrates our effectiveness at reaching concerned parties and providing a resource by which they can take action against these heinous sites.”
“On the other hand," Henning added, "the sharp uptick in reports illustrates the immense scale and ongoing nature of this serious social problem, which affects all of society.”
The director explained that ASACP analyzes these raw reports, passing confirmed “Red Flag” sites on to relevant law enforcement agencies around the world. This preliminary filtering process prevents legal teen and other legitimate sites from wasting law enforcement resources that are needed to combat illegal websites and is a process that is enabled by the association’s intimate view of today’s adult entertainment industry and the laws and technology that surround it.
“Finding illegal websites is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Henning said. “ASACP makes these virtual haystacks smaller, while shining a light on the nefarious needles within — protecting the needs of legitimate companies, as well as the welfare of children worldwide.”
For more information on joining ASACP contact tim@asacp.org.